


Purr-fection (Isn't What It's Cut Out to Be)

by Caramel (Karameru)



Category: Tokyo Mew Mew
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2018-12-02 03:23:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11500767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karameru/pseuds/Caramel
Summary: He was perfect. Everything about him was perfect - but perhaps too perfect. The longer she was with him and the more serious they got, Ichigo just couldn't understand Aoyama. It was if he didn't have a mind of his own - like he was a robot. She could never be sure if he was lamenting her or if he truly agreed with her. Perhaps it was those thoughts that made her start thinking about a certain Alien that once was in her life.





	1. Chapter 1

Aoyama-kun, Aoyama-kun, Aoyama-kun! 

Now that she thought back on it, she really was annoying about him, wasn’t she? She knew her friends supported her all the same, but she couldn’t really blame them if they thought she annoying. It didn’t matter to her though, because now the two of them were finally an official couple and had been for the last few years. 

Everything was absolutely and 100% perfect! 

Well… it should have been. The two never fought; never argued; never disagreed and never spent a day without each other for longer than a few hours. However, that was precisely why she had begun to lament Masaya.  
The more she watched other couples and their relationships, the more she realized just how weird it was that their relationship was so perfect. Mint had told her ‘don’t compare yourself to them’ and Zakuro had said that ‘every relationship is different’, but weren’t she and Masaya a little too different? 

Masaya never argued back – never! She could never tell what he was truly thinking and it frustrated her. Did he really and truly agree with her, or was he just saying it? Did Masaya truly agree with her on every front – except when it came to putting herself in danger of course (something she often did)? She couldn’t tell and that bothered her. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she didn’t really know Masaya; even now, years into their relationship. Everything she knew was just everything she had always known; common facts at this point. He was nice, he was popular, he was good at kendo, and he cared about the environment and wanted to save the planet… But this was stuff anyone could know. 

Ichigo sighed as she dangled her arms off the balcony edge, letting the cool air wash over her face – so refreshing after the hot bath. The lights of Tokyo City sparkled in the distance as she stared to the horizon, her thoughts a scurry of confusion and doubt. What was she to do? Maybe it was just one of those nights where she doubted herself. Every girl goes through that, right?  
Surely by tomorrow, or at least by next week, these thoughts would go away and everything would return to normal. She and Masaya could be a perfect couple again and go to the Amusement Park together and ride on the rollercoaster together and… 

“Ichigo?” called a voice from inside the house – her mother. 

“Ah, coming!” Ichigo called back, walking back into the warm room. Her mother looked at her with a worried expression, her eyes looking Ichigo up and down a few times. 

“Ichigo… What have I said about sitting out there for too long? You’re going to catch a cold, you know?” She argued, hands on her hips 

“Sorry, sorry! I was just thinking about some things.” A simple explanation and an awkward laugh weren’t enough to fool her mother. 

“Ichigo… Is something bothering you? Did Aoyama say something?” 

No, of course he didn’t. He never did. 

Ichigo sighed and shook her head, “No, it’s not that. Don’t worry; don’t worry, by tomorrow I’ll be back to normal!” 

Her mother didn’t buy it, but she decided to let Ichigo handle it on her own. No use trying to force it out of her, right? 

“Okay, well hurry on and finish your homework and get some sleep, okay?” 

“Okay!” Ichigo responded before rushing up to her room, closing the door behind her. 

‘By tomorrow I’ll be back to normal.’ Please let those words ring true. 

\---- 

“Ichigo!” Mint scolded, waving a hand in front of the girl’s face, “What’s wrong with you? You’re acting all weird.” 

Ichigo didn’t even have the energy to respond. In the end, she hadn’t gotten much sleep. Every time she started drifting, the thought of her and Masaya breaking up would jolt her awake again. She didn’t want that to happen! No, she couldn’t let that happen… Not after everything they went through, right? 

“I’m fine…” Ichigo said after a few moments to try and ease Mint’s worries; who wasn’t fooled. 

“No you’re not.” 

“I’m fine, really…” 

Mint frowned before scoffing and walking away, not interesting in this pointless arguing. Ichigo could feel the other girls’ eyes bearing down on her, but she couldn’t even think about it. All she could think about were the same thoughts over and over again 

What would she do if she and Masaya really, truly couldn’t work? No, she couldn’t think of such a thing! No, she and Masaya were going to be fine! Really and truly fine! 

But she didn’t know what to do. If she kept having these thoughts, then surely it would bother Masaya. No… Of course he wouldn’t be bothered. He’d never be bothered. Or at least, he’d never tell her that it bothered him. Even though they had been together for a few years now, he’d never tell her his true thoughts, would he? 

“Ah!” Ichigo yelled out in frustration, rubbing her temples angrily. She didn’t know! Even after everything, she had no idea about Masaya! 

Then she got sad again, her shoulders dropping as she looked down at the floor. She was sure she looked crazy to the girls, but she didn’t have the energy to care. She just felt so idiotic at the moment. 

“Ichigo-san. You can talk to us if you need to.” It was Lettuce, her caring eyes as warm as always. Ichigo felt so safe around Lettuce. 

Ichigo nodded, “Thank you, Lettuce. I’m fine though, really!” 

A lie. A terrible lie at that. 

“A…Anyway! What’re we doing here, anyway? Where are Shirogane and Akasaka?” No point in trying to fool her friends so she decided to try and distract them. 

“They’ll be here soon.” Zakuro was quick to respond, unlike the others who were still staring at Ichigo with concern. 

They were in front of Café Mew Mew, something Ichigo had often avoided ever since she started dating Masaya. Why had she been called here? Berry was currently busy, so it was just the original team back here – just like good old times. Back before all these worries bothered Ichigo on a daily basis; back when she loved Masaya regardless; back when she called him ‘Aoyama-kun’; back when she was a child. 

Back when Kisshu had been around. 

That thought struck her. Kisshu – she hadn’t seen or heard from him in years. She wondered how he was doing. Was he happy? Was he doing well? Was he better than before? 

Did he even remember her?  
She remembered him well – how could she forget? It had started with teasing and then grown into a scary obsession. To say he scared her would be an understatement, and yet she could tell that underneath it all, he did care. She didn’t hate Kisshu, not even a little bit. In fact, she was sure, if given the chance, the two of them could have been friends – or was that too naïve? 

Those words rang in her mind, one of the last words he had ever said to her. 

‘Thank you for giving me the chance to love you even if it was a hopeless love.’ 

It had hurt somehow. Back then, she had known and understood her choice. She had stood by it without a doubt in her mind. Masaya was the man she loved – not Kisshu. Yet when had said those words, her heart almost ached. Was it because she knew just how much Kisshu had loved her and she had felt sorry for him? Or… was it something more? 

No! Now was not the time to be thinking of such things – not while she was already having doubts about Masaya! That would only make matters worse and she didn’t need that. She needed to clear her mind properly from all these issues. She couldn’t doubt herself or her decision. 

“Oi, what’re you doing?” Shirogane was as caring as always, she supposed. 

“Nothing! What do you want anyway?” Ichigo was annoyed – not necessarily at him but rather just in general. It was easier to take it out on him though.  
He seemed a little taken aback, but he soon smirked at her 

“Hurry up then, don’t keep me waiting.” He simply said before walking into the café alongside Akasaka. 

“That idiot! He was the one making us wait!” Ichigo yelled, stomping her feet on the ground almost comically. 

But she was grateful because in that moment, she completely forgot she had any troubles to begin with. 

\---- 

“New enemy?” 

“Yes, but we’re not really sure on the details. All we do know is that there have been incidents popping up all over Tokyo.” Akasaka explained, gesturing to the screen.  
It was true. Though the incidents were only in very small areas, there was telling damage that couldn’t necessarily be explained. It was like a tornado had ripped through an area, and yet the damage was contained – as if the tornado had swelled up and died down in less than a few minutes. 

“So you want us to put a stop to them?” 

No. No, no, no, no way! She had enough problems on her plate, she didn’t need this world saving thing to be added to it! Not again! 

“No.” Ichigo outwardly refused, garnering a look from Shirogane 

“You won’t do it?” He asked, almost as if giving her an option. 

“I won’t.” She could be surprisingly stubborn. 

“That’s fine.” 

What? He was just going to let her leave – just like that? Well, she wasn’t going to let him change his mind. 

“Excuse me then.” Ichigo bowed before leaving the room, ignoring the looks of confusion from her comrades and the almost doubtful look from Shirogane – as if he knew she’d join them in the end. No, she absolutely wouldn’t! Mint, Lettuce, Pudding and Zakuro were strong enough without her! Besides, the attacks were small. It’s not like it was the end of the world, right? 

They didn’t need her and she didn’t need that drama at the moment. It was selfish, but she had to put herself first. 

Without looking back, Ichigo marched on home 

\---- 

Ah… she kind of wished now she hadn’t said what she said. Ichigo rolled back and forth on her bed, hugging the pillow tightly to her chest. What if they did need her? What if they got hurt without her? What if…  
No! She couldn’t let herself think this way! They were strong and she had to believe in them! Besides, she wasn’t sure if she could be of much help anymore. She wasn’t as strong anymore. Perhaps before she could do it with Masaya supporting her along the way, but now? She couldn’t even know if she could believe in him the same way. 

Maybe under different circumstances she would have joined them, but… 

“Ah!” She yelled into her pillow before jumping off her bed and walking to the window. Maybe the cool air could calm her down. 

The night was silent. Outside she could see a black cat, wandering over the stone fence posts without a care in the world. How she wished she could return to that; to those days. She let out a sad sigh before resting her arms on the window sill. 

Okay so maybe today hadn’t been better, but surely tomorrow would be! There was no point in thinking that things would remain this way. She just needed more time that was all. Then she and Masaya would be fine again.  
But… now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen Masaya all day. She couldn’t bear to face him while she was thinking like this. He didn’t deserve that. She’d be lying though if she said that didn’t make her sad. 

“Masaya… I’m sorry…” She quietly said aloud, looking up at the stars as she spoke. 

“Hm?” 

She jolted upright, hitting her head on the top of the window frame. 

“Ouch!” She yelped, grabbing at the quickly forming bump and quickly falling backwards as everything came tumbling down on her. 

Then there was that laugh – that laugh from her past; a laugh she hadn’t heard in years. 

“You haven’t changed at all, Koneko-chan~!”


	2. Tormented Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's no avoiding her fate, she has to do this! It's time to accept her fate as a Mew Mew and save the world once more. What's one more problem on top of her growing list?

“Now that everyone’s here, let’s go over the plan then.”

Why was she here again?

Ichigo inwardly sighed as she watched the screen in front of her. It showed a map of the city with the occasional ‘X’ scattered around. There didn’t appear to be any sort of a pattern, but then again she wasn’t exactly known for her ability to make plans - or even understanding them.

Akesaka was leading the charge with Ryo watching; waiting even. As if waiting for a chance to chime in and give his opinion. How long had it been since Ichigo had come down here with the rest of the Mew Mews.

Mew Mews.

Was she going to have to be one again? Was this just her fate now?

“Ichigo-san?”

Lettuce tapped her shoulder breaking Ichigo out of her thoughts. Everyone in the room was now looking at her.

“Huh, what, what’s going on?”

“If you’re not going to listen then just go home.”

Ryo could be cruel sometimes. She wanted to; of course she wanted to. She wanted nothing to do with this anymore – she didn’t want to be a Mew Mew anymore.

“I’m listening! New enemy, gotta stop them, save the world…”

She trailed off as the reality set in. She really was going to do this, wasn’t she?

“Don’t sound too enthusiastic.” Ryo sarcastically replied, rolling his eyes before pointing back up at the screen, “Now, as we were saying, there have been some anomalies appearing in some areas around Tokyo. We’ve narrowed down the most prominent locations to five separate places. Each of you need to investigate an area and report what you find. Any questions?”

Lettuce shyly speaks up, “Um, what exactly are we looking for…?”

“We’re not sure, all we know is that the signal seems to move around these areas, but we can’t pinpoint it. Just look out for anything unusual.”

Lettuce didn’t seem too happy with that answer, but she wasn’t in any position to argue. Ichigo, however, was.

“What? So we’re just meant to look around for something that we don’t even know what it is?”

“Yep, so get on with it.”

Ryo’s nonchalance never ceased to annoy Ichigo. She’d like to see him go out and look for whatever it is they were looking for. Then again, he’d probably just come up with some stupid excuse to make her look like the idiot all the same. Grumbling, Ichigo decides to just leave to go find this unknown thing that no one could identify. It was stupid.

As she walked to the area, her anger soon subsided and was replaced with guilt. She hadn’t told Masaya anything, not even that she had gone back to Café Mew Mew. She knew that she should tell him but she didn’t want to tell him something that she didn’t even understand herself. For all she knew, this could be nothing.

She still should tell him that she’s going to Café Mew Mew again. Maybe she could come up with some dumb excuse like an anniversary or something. It wasn’t like she never went back to Café Mew Mew after everything had finished up. She’ll just have to tell Masaya some excuse after she investigated this area.

As she arrived at the location, Ichigo was suddenly struck with a weird fear. Her conversation with Kisshu the night before had brought on a sense of worry over her that she didn’t really like. The only reason she was here was because of him anyway.

* * *

“You haven’t changed at all, Koneko-chan~.”

Ichigo rubbed her head in pain as she looked over at the source of the voice. She wasn’t hallucinating it – Kisshu really was lying on her bed and looking at her with that teasing smirk that she had somehow never forgotten. What were the odds of him being here now? This couldn’t be a coincidence.  Swallowing her confusion, she tried to remain calm.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, resisting the temptation to make any attempt to reunite with him. She didn’t hate him, but that didn’t mean she trusted him either.

“Heh, so that’s what you wear to bed?”

He distracted her, and suddenly her attempts at remaining calm vanished. Ichigo screamed and tried to cover herself. Just as she went to hit him, her mother’s worried questioning suddenly caught her attention. Damn, she had been too loud! She didn’t have any time, her mother was already coming up the stairs.

“Ichigo? Are you okay?”

In a panic, Ichigo grabbed the blanket and covered Kisshu before sitting on top of the blanketed alien. He wriggled a little bit underneath her.

“Don’t move and be quiet.” She warned, keeping her voice to a whisper. Thankfully, Kisshu stopped moving just as her mother entered the room. Ichigo laughed nervously, rubbing her head.

“Sorry! I hit my head and then knocked over my lamp, but don’t worry I caught it!”

It was a lame excuse and she probably sounded like a liar, but her mother didn’t question it.

“Okay, if you say so. Just be careful, okay? Do you need some ice?”

Ichigo shook her head and just simply smiled as her mother reluctantly left. Hopefully she wasn’t too suspicious. As soon as she heard her mother walk down the steps once more, Ichigo let out a sigh of relief.

“Can you get off me now?”

Ichigo jumped off of Kisshu and ran over to her closet, grabbing a jacket and putting it on as he lifted the blankets off himself. Kisshu fixed his hair before laughing.

“Wow, koneko-chan, I thought you’d be heavier than that!”

What was THAT supposed to mean!? No, she didn’t have time to ask about that.

“Why are you here, Kisshu?” She asked, careful to keep her voice down as to not attract her mother again. She didn’t think she could fool her mother twice.

Kisshu seemed to contemplate whether he should continue teasing her or actually answer her questions. After a few moments, he seemed to decide on the latter, letting out an almost sad sigh.

“Here I thought you’d be happier to see me,” he said, sitting up straight and looking at Ichigo, “I wish I could say that I just wanted to see you after all this time, but that’s not it.”

Ichigo was less angry now, and more curious. What did he mean by that? This had something to do with the ‘new enemy’ she just knew it.

“Ichigo.”

She hated it when he said her name instead of his stupid nicknames that he had for her. It always left a bad feeling in her gut. This wasn’t good.

“You’re in danger. I… I had a vision.” He explained, almost looking embarrassed by his statement. He definitely looked uncomfortable.

De ja vu.

This reminded her of when Masaya said he had had visions of her back the first time. Did that mean that Masaya was also having bad visions? Was he worried about something too?

Part of Ichigo wanted to just brush off his visions as some delusion of his. It wouldn’t be the first time, but for some reason Kisshu’s seriousness made her want to believe him, even if only for a moment.

“What were the visions of?”

Kisshu was surprised by her lack of argument. She figured he had expected her to argue back, call him an idiot – something of the like. Well, jokes on him, she had done some growing over these last few years (even if it wasn’t that much).

“I don’t know exactly. I just remember seeing blood and wings, and you were screaming…”

He trailed off. Ichigo couldn’t help but wonder what else was in the vision but she figured he didn’t really want to go into detail. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t good. Eventually, she let out a sigh as she realized he wasn’t going to say anymore.

“Shirogane actually called us all back. He said that there was some new enemy or something, I don’t know. I told him I wasn’t interested, and that was that.”

This whole interaction was awkward. She was so used to him teasing and her arguing back. She didn’t hate it though, it almost felt normal. Like she and Kisshu had never been enemies in the first place.

Kisshu didn’t say anything in response, confusing Ichigo. Had he not expected her to be so honest with him? Well, it was just as she had thought to herself earlier – it wasn’t as though she hated him. After everything, surely she could trust him with this much. After all, he had come all this way just to warn her. He deserved something in return she supposed.

“I’ll be around. Just in case. I’ve got your back, kitty cat.”

His teasing nature was back. That was a relief in itself. She scoffed in response.

“I don’t need you to watch over me.”

He just winked at her before leaning in close to her. Ichigo instinctively pulled away, eliciting a laugh from the alien.

“’Til we meet again, koneko-chan.”

Just like that, he was gone. Ichigo looked at the spot where he had been just moments before. Why did she miss him all of the sudden?

* * *

Ichigo stepped into the park that she had been assigned to by Ryo. Looking around, Ichigo was a little confused. She didn’t know what she had expected, but it seemed like nothing was wrong. The only thing that seemed amiss was the fact that the park was empty. The more she walked around, the more she realized that there wasn’t a single person around. Not a child, not a commuter, not a couple – no one.

She didn’t even recall seeing any animals around save for a pink butterfly that floated around. The butterfly gave off a sparkle as the sunlight glinted off its translucent wings. Ichigo had never seen a butterfly like it ever in her life – and she had made friends with a certain butterfly researcher in the past, so she wasn’t exactly naïve in that area.

The butterfly floated towards her. Ichigo held out a finger for the butterfly to land on, which it appeared to appreciate. A sudden fear washed over Ichigo as the butterfly flew closer but before Ichigo could do anything, the butterfly landed on her finger.

A horrible burning sensation suddenly stung her finger, causing the girl to fling the butterfly away. She had barely noticed that the butterfly didn’t fly away but instead fell to the ground, limp. However, Ichigo didn’t have much of a chance to care as she instead focused on her finger. Looking at the injury, there was no visible burn but instead there was a large pink splotch. A few moments passed by and the burning subsided, but still the pink splotch remained.

Worried, Ichigo went to go wash the splotch away in a nearby fountain. The moment she started to rub at the splotch with some water, the burning once again started. Ichigo had to bite her tongue to stop herself from screaming.

It was then that she noticed something that hadn’t been there before – people. Suddenly the park was filled with people again. What was going on? She swore it had been empty only moments ago. This was beyond weird!

Covering her finger, she decided to head back to the Café. They’d know what to do!

* * *

“What were you thinking!?”

Ryo definitely came across angry, but Ichigo knew that he was actually worried. That didn’t make her less annoyed at his reaction though.

“What do you mean ‘What was I thinking’!? It was a butterfly, it was flying towards me, I thought I’d catch it on my finger – how was I supposed to know it would do this!”

Ryo bit his tongue, knowing that she wasn’t exactly wrong.

As soon as Ichigo had come back, she had explained the situation to Akesaka and Ryo. At first, they thought she was overreacting. It was probably some pollen that had stained her finger or something like that. Akesaka offered to wash the ‘pollen’ off, knowing the best way to remove the stain. Ichigo had reluctantly agreed, buying into their ‘it’s probably nothing’ mentality.

However, just as it had done before, as soon as Akesaka began to wash at the finger the burning started up again. This time, it hurt even more than before causing Ichigo to let out a scream of pain.

Right as the Mew Mews arrived back.

“What’s going on - is Ichigo okay?”

Mint was (surprisingly) the first one to react. Suddenly, Ichigo had been surrounded by the girls as she showed them the pink stained finger. This time, Akesaka explained to them what had happened, Ichigo only chiming in to confirm what he said.

“What am I going to do?”

Ichigo was worried as she looked down at the splotch for what seemed like the millionth time.

“The best thing you can do at this time is to wait to see if anything happens. For all we know, it could fade away on its own.”

Zakuro was the wise one as always. Somehow, when she said it, it almost felt like it was silly to worry about it. Ichigo reluctantly nodded.

“Don’t you have a date with Masaya? You wouldn’t shut up about it yesterday.”

Thankfully, Mint managed to distract Ichigo from the issue at hand (Even if she had been unnecessarily rude about it). Ichigo had almost forgotten about it! Looking at the time, she realized she only had a few minutes to get there.

“It’s that late already!? But I…”

Ichigo trailed off, not sure how to explain the splotch to Masaya. Zakuro seemed to realise first what was worrying Ichigo more, as everyone else assumed that Ichigo would be willing to tell Masaya anything and everything – especially after all that had happened.

“Here, wrap it in a bandage. Now go, there’s no point in keeping him waiting.”

Ichigo nodded before running out of the Café. Zakuro was right; keeping him waiting would only make the situation worse. She was worried – of course she was! There was a pink splotch on her finger that wouldn’t go away and burns whenever she tries to wash it away. Was she poisoned?

No, there’s no point in worrying now. She’d just have to wait and keep an eye on it, just like Zakuro said.

Where would she be without Zakuro’s wise advice?

“Masaya!” Ichigo called as soon as she saw the boy come into view. He didn’t seem to be upset at all – of course not – as Ichigo arrived a few minutes late.

“You didn’t have to run, you know.” He said with a warm and reassuring smile.

“Yea, but I couldn’t wait to see you!”

As soon as Ichigo lifted her hand, Masaya immediately zoned in on her bandaged finger causing Ichigo to pull it back.

“You’re hurt…”

“I, It’s fine! I just… I was at, um, Café Mew Mew and we were making a cake and I, um, cut myself with the knife, but I’m fine, really!”

She doubted she sounded very convincing, but Masaya didn’t argue it, only giving her a concerned look before holding out his hand.

“Shall we go then?”

Taking his hand, she accepts the offer, the two of them walking through the city, hand in hand. It felt normal again, like nothing had just happened. The two of them were boyfriend and girlfriend, and a happy couple. However, her doubts continued to linger in the back of her mind. Surely they’d fade away, right? This was just a stage in the relationship that they had to go through.

That had to be it.

* * *

“Hah…” Ichigo let out a sigh as she flopped down onto her bed. What a day it had been. First, she had decided to go back to the Café Mew Mew as a Mew Mew and help out with a mission, had been attacked by a pink butterfly (in hindsight, it honestly sounded stupid when she thought about it that way), had gotten a stained finger that burned whenever she tried to wash it away, and had to go on a date with Masaya while she was thinking about all these worries.

She felt drained to say the least.

Ichigo held up her finger, looking once again at the pink splotch. How quickly her life had turned upside down once more. A week ago she was living a peaceful and normal life, but now she was back in this mess.

“Hey kitty cat.”

Ichigo opened her eyes again to see Kisshu floating above her. Just as Ichigo went to scream, she felt Kisshu’s hands clamp over her mouth.

“As much as I enjoyed the closeness, I’d rather not be sat on again.” He teased. Ichigo slapped his hands away and covered herself with her blankets.

“You shouldn’t come into my room like that then.” She simply retorted, keeping her voice low.

“Aw, but then I wouldn’t get to see you in your PJs~.”

“That’s the point.”

Arguing like this felt weirdly nice.

She really was tired.

“What really happened to your finger?”

Ichigo was suddenly caught off guard as Kisshu suddenly turned serious. Ichigo tried to cover the splotch but it was too late. Kisshu had already gotten a good look at it. There was no point in lying to him.

“…I went to go investigate the new enemy.”

She had expected Kisshu to be annoyed, but instead he didn’t seem surprised at all. Still, Ichigo felt like she needed to explain herself.

“I couldn’t just let my friends go on their own, what if they got hurt?”

Kisshu just laughed. Ichigo could tell that he wasn’t actually happy, but she didn’t want to push it. This was her decision.

“So, why’d you lie to your boyfriend then?”

What?

Why did he know that?

“You… You were SPYING on me?” She had to stop herself from yelling, but she made it clear on her facial expressions that she was beyond annoyed.

“Just watching over my cute kitty~.” He teased.

She wasn’t impressed. A part of her understood why, after all he had admitted that he had come because a vision had caused him some worry. But that didn’t make it okay!

Then she realized something she could ask.

“Wait, then you were at the park too. Were there people there? Did you see the butterfly?”

Kisshu looked at Ichigo like she was going crazy.

“Of course there were people there, it’s a park. I saw a butterfly but I just figured my kitty cat was scared of butterflies or something.” He shrugged it off, obviously not thinking much on it.

There were people there the whole time? But that was impossible; she didn’t remember seeing anyone until after everything happened. It didn’t make any sense. What was going on?

“You said something last night. What was it…? ‘I’m sorry…”

This time it was Ichigo’s time to cover Kisshu’s mouth.

“Seriously, stop spying on me.”

She was beyond embarrassed now and couldn’t even meet his eyes. Kisshu suddenly went serious however and instead grabbed her chin, pulling her towards him. For some reason, Ichigo didn’t make any attempt to pull away. The two stood there for a moment, staring at each other. She could feel his breath as it washed over her lips. Was he going to… kiss her? Then why wasn’t she pulling away? Did she want him to kiss her?

Just as suddenly as he had pulled her in, he pulled away, laughing.

“Don’t worry, kitty cat, I know you chose him, I wouldn’t do that to you.”

He seemed sad as he said that, even as he laughed. For some reason, the sentence also made her feel sad.

No, what was she thinking? It was just guilt. She felt guilty, that’s all it was. But she had made the right choice! This is how things are meant to be, and everything turned out perfect.

Just perfect.

“Alright, I’ll stop spying on you, but don’t think you can get rid of me that easy, koneko-chan~.”

Before Ichigo could say anything, he was gone again. She really didn’t need this extra layer of confusion.

Once more, she fell on her bed and closed her eyes. There was no point in dwelling on it, she should just get some sleep and start fresh tomorrow. Tomorrow was a new day, and maybe they could get the splotch off her finger tomorrow. She just needed to sleep.

* * *

Ichigo rolled around in her sleep, her body restless as she became plagued with confusing dreams. Dreams of Masaya, dreams of Kisshu, dreams of being a Mew Mew again – everything was confusing. Even in her dreams she couldn’t escape.

As she continued to be tormented, the pink splotch on her finger suddenly began to glow, standing out in the dark room.

Back at the park, the limp butterfly that lay in the grass began to glow as well. The soft crunching on the grass echoed in the quiet of the night as boots walked towards the glowing butterfly.

“Oh? Did you find someone then?”

Dainty fingers reached down and picked up the glowing butterfly, now stiff as a rock. The girl smiled widely, her shark-like teeth glinting in the moonlight.

“Well then, let’s go find them.”

* * *

**Chapter 3: I’m a Mew Mew… Again!?**

Ichigo closed her eyes, readying herself for the inevitable impact. Instead, she felt someone lift her away, a rush of air blowing as the weapon landed in the dirt where she herself had stood not seconds beforehand.

“You know, kitty cat, I always did prefer you like this~.”

* * *

**Author Notes:**

Wow, I know it’s been a LONG time since I’ve updated this. I honestly forgot about it, but you all seemed to like it so I figured I’d get back into it!

Anyway, just a forewarning: This chapter does contain M-rated elements – including in violence. But the focus will be ultimately towards Kisshu and Ichigo’s relationship, and I’ll keep the violence to a minimum. Just know that there will be hints of it.

Rest assured, no deaths will occur in this fic. I’m not into that drama anymore.

Yes, there will be OCs in this fic, but only the enemy's so don't worry!

Thank you guys again for the lovely comments, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!


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